Container closure



Sept. 18, 1956 H. s. MAKELA CONTAINER CLOSURE Filed Aug. 24, 1953 IN V EN TOR.

W u 0 M 5 0 W H d A Irarne x Uni The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in closures for milk and other bottles or containers and has for its primary object to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a closure of this character which will be highly sanitary.

Another very important object of the invention is to provide a closure of the character described which may be readily opened to permit the content of the container to be poured and which may be closed to again seal said container.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide a closure of the aforementioned character which embodies novel means for firmly but removably securing said closure in position on the container, whereby said closure may be readily removed and cleaned for reuse.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a sanitary container closure which will be comparatively simple in construction, durable, compact, attractive in appearance and which may be manufactured at low cost.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view, showing a closure embodying the present invention in position on the con tainer;

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view thereof;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a top plan view.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that reference character 5 designates generally the upper portion of a conventional milk or dairy bottle comprising the usual neck 6 provided with a pouring lip 7. The embodiment of the present invention which has been illustrated comprises a cap 8 of suitable plastic which may be colored or ornamented as desired.

The cap 8 is adapted to be removably mounted on the lip 7 of the bottle 5. Toward this end, the cap 8 includes a disc 9 of a diameter to fit snugly in the pouring lip 7 of the bottle. Formed integrally with the disc 9 is a peripheral flange 10 of arcuate cross section for the reception of the lip 7.

Formed integrally with the periphery of the arcuate 60 flange 10 is a depending flexible tongue 11. As illustrated to advantage in Figure 2 of the drawing, the tongue 11 has formed therein a pair of vertical slits 12 through ,iitates Patent 0 ice which a substantially C-shaped clip 13 of suitable resilient metal is threaded. The clip 13 terminates in outwardly curved end portions 14.

At a point diametrically opposite the tongue 11, the flange 10 of the cap 8 has formed integrally therewith a lifting lug 15. As best seen in Figure 4 of the drawing, the lifting lug 15 is located intermediate the end portions 14 of the clip 13 but above the horizontal plane thereof.

It is thought that the manner in which the closure is used will be readily apparent from a consideration of the foregoing. Briefly, the resilient clip 13 is placed on the neck 6 of the bottle 5 immediately below the lip 7. Then, by an application of slight pressure the cap 8 is seated on the pouring lip 7 for closing and sealing the bottle against contamination. The cap may be readily opened by simply lifting on the lug 15, said cap swinging upwardly on the flexible tongue 11 by which it is tethered to the bottle through the clip 13. It will thus be seen that what may be considered a captive bottle cap has been provided. To remove the closure for cleaning or other purposes it is only necessary to open or expand the clip 13 and slip same off the bottle. Application and removal of the clip 13 is facilitated by the outturned end portions 14 thereof. The pocket or depression defined by the disc 9 and the peripheral flange 10 is adapted to receive a circular advertising or other card.

It is believed that the many advantages of a container closure constructed in accordance with the present invention will be readily understood and although a preferred embodiment of said closure is as illustrated and described, it is to be understood that changes in the details of construction may be resorted to which will fall within the scope of the invention of claimed.

What is claimed is:

A reusable bottle closure comprising: a resilient plastic captive cap for mounting on the mouth of a bottle, an integral flexible tongue depending from the periphery of said cap and having spaced, parallel, longitudinal slits therein, a removable, substantially C-shaped resilient clip threaded through the slits and engageable under tension around the neck of the bottle for tethering the cap thereto, said clip terminating in spaced, opposed, outturned end portions providing guides facilitating the application of said clip to the bottle and further providing stops for preventing separation of said clip from the tongue, and an integral lifting lug projecting radially from the cap at a point diametrically opposite the tongue and intermediate the vertical planes of the spaced guides.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 615,322 Tatum Dec. 6, 1898 783,257 Foote Feb. 21, 1905 1,239,261 Dudley Sept. 4, 1917 2,157,937 Koscherak May 9, 1939 2,168,822 Fink Aug. 8, 1939 2,573,552 Detzel Oct. 30, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 457,515 France July 12, 1913 343,720 Great Britain Feb. 26, 1931 477,700 Italy Jan. 30, 1935 

